Despite the fact that human-alligator interactions are increasing, such encounters rarely end badly

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Timely reptile tips

Some tips for alligator encounters:

1. If the alligator is not approaching people or otherwise posing an obvious threat, wait a few days if possible before contacting TPWD.

2. If you hear an alligator hiss, it's a warning that you are too close. Back away slowly.

3. If you walk near the water and an alligator comes straight toward you, especially if it comes out of the water, it is definitely a nuisance alligator that needs to be reported to TPWD.

4. If you see an alligator while walking a pet, make sure that your pet is on a leash and under your control.

5. If you see an alligator in the roadway, do not attempt to move it. Notify local authorities so the alligator can be handled safely.

6. Don't feed alligators — it's against the law.

Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

As much as the squawk of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron returning to its nest, or the intoxicating waft of jasmine on a late-evening walk, the bellicose bellow of a big alligator looking for love is a harbinger of spring on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Many of us probably won't hear the song of the randy gator, but the species' version of prom season is in full swing. Thousands of them are on the move, primping and preening, building nests, staking out their turf, competing for space with the only creature higher up the food chain, the humans in their midst.

They take up residence in the manicured lakes of our subdivisions on the coastal prairie. They crawl through doggie doors into our kitchens. They show up at our schools and on our porches. They stop traffic on freeways. They take dips in our backyard pools. And they love our dogs.

All of which, through no fault of their own, makes them a nuisance, and that makes them Larry Janik's business.

"Lady takes little Fluffy out to the side of the pond in her subdivision and little Fluffy's running around going 'Yap, yap, yap.' That's a snack," Janik says. "Those alligators come to a dog like nothing."

What really upsets people, he says, is when "little $500 Fluffy" ends up inside an alligator.

This time of year, the proprietor of Janik Alligators in El Campo spends much of his time trying to keep that scenario from happening.

In the last week and a half in Fort Bend County, he says, 21 alligators were removed from the Sienna Plantation subdivision alone. State game wardens are being swamped by calls from residents across the region who have come across the wandering scaly reptiles.

Prime alligator habitat

The vast majority of those calls do not involve an alligator that is being a nuisance, says Amos Cooper, a Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist in charge of the department's alligator program. More often than not they come from suburbanites who have bought a tract home in prime alligator habitat and have never seen one before.

And despite the fact that human-alligator interactions are increasing, such encounters rarely end badly - slightly more than a dozen times in the last 25 years - and no alligator-related deaths have ever been recorded in the state.

A nuisance alligator is defined as one that is killing livestock or pets, or has become a threat to human health or safety.

While one can sympathize with the rancher or pet owner over the loss of their animals, an alligator that takes them is simply doing what comes naturally. They become a threat to human health or safety when they interact with humans.

"If an alligator is in these subdivisions where they see people around the clock seven days a week, they become accustomed to people," Janik says. "They're not scared of people no more."

The reptiles become even bolder and more aggressive when people feed them, which they do, says Janik.

Big males rarely seen

For the most part, the alligators being encountered by people during the mating season - which stretches from April 1 to June 30 - are 5 feet long or less, Cooper says. This is because the territorial battles going on, which are generally won by the big males, give the smaller animals a simple choice: Get out of Dodge, or get eaten.

The recent increases in the number of encounters between people and alligators is, in part, due to one of the more remarkable comebacks by a species once on the brink. In 1967, the American alligator was listed as an endangered species; two years later it was fully protected by the state.

But over the past 20 years, it has rebounded impressively. In 1984, the state started a strictly monitored harvesting program for wild alligators, and in 1987, the species was removed from the list of endangered species. They're difficult to count, but estimates are that as many as 500,000 alligators now live in Texas.

They're still protected, and it is against the law to kill, harass, molest or try to move alligators. Besides, it's dangerous. Only state game wardens or licensed nuisance alligator hunters like Janik are allowed to deal with them if they become a nuisance.

So if you see one in your swimming pool, call your local game warden or call 800-792-1112.